Irak 40

De chaos in Irak is compleet en de Amerikaanse regering wil de komende zomer troepen gaan terugtrekken. Truthout: 'Violence Prevents Formation of Iraq Gov't. Pressure mounted Sunday on Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to give up his bid for a new term amid anger over a recent surge of sectarian killing that has complicated already snarled negotiations on a new Iraqi government. The delay forming a government has prevented the parliament elected Dec. 15 from meeting since the vote was certified last month. But Kurdish and some Shiite officials said Sunday it should be ready to convene within days. The political turmoil has left a dangerous leadership vacuum as Iraqi armed forces, backed by the U.S. military, battle to contain the violence that pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war. Early Sunday, police reported commandos from the Interior Ministry stormed a Sunni mosque in west Baghdad, killing three people and injuring seven in a 25 minute gunbattle. Later, two relatives of an influential Sunni leader were killed in a drive-by shooting in another part of west Baghdad. The Shiite-led Interior Ministry denied involvement in either attack. Sunni and Shiite clerics, meanwhile, issued a joint appeal for Muslim unity and the protection of religious sites. "Extinguish the flames of the sectarian treachery," said the statement by followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and members of the Sunni Endowment, a government agency responsible for Sunni mosques and shrines. "Every drop of blood shed is a waste." U.S. officials believe a unity government that includes Iraq's main ethnic and religious communities is essential for stabilizing the country and allowing U.S. and other foreign forces to start pulling out in the summer.' Lees verder:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030506X.shtml En: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107AP_Iraq.html